A Break from Routine
by DanniAlice
Summary: Meredith and Derek decide to take a night off from work to spend some time together, but it doesn't turn out quite as they planned.


Meredith smothered her hands over her light brown silk dress, and turned to give herself a quick once-over in the mirror. Maybe she should go out more often, she decided. The dress was really quite flattering on her figure. The color complimented her hair and skin tone, and the cinched waist made her look rather tiny in the middle. Not bad for a quick pick up without even trying it on when she went to the mall.

Just as she was deciding on how to accessorize it (the sparkle pager didn't really work here, did it?) she sensed someone coming up behind her.

"My, my…" Derek's smooth voice murmured, "We should go out somewhere nice more often."

Meredith smiled. "I was thinking the same thing." She laughed, and turned around.

Derek was looking nice as well, but she had seen him like this before. With his hair was neatly combed and his dress shirt tucked in, he looked even more handsome than usual. She decided at this moment that it was going to be a good night. Slipping her phone into her clutch as an afterthought, she took his hand and let him lead her out the door.

She had given him the task of picking where they were going for their much needed night out. All he had said to her was to dress nicely, and to expect anything. When they pulled up at one of the classiest restaurants in town, however, she was still surprised. "How long-"she started to say, but Derek answered her right away, already expecting this question. "I've had the reservation for a month."

As soon as her almost never worn high heels stepped onto the red carpet inside the place, she was in awe. The restaurant was decorated entirely in golds and reds, with elaborate floral arrangements in every corner and placed on every table. The place was lit completely with candles. Some were resting on the tables, some were on the walls, and the rest were dotted throughout the giant chandelier that hung above everyone's heads, the light from the flames shining through the crystal and illuminating the resturnat in a dazzling and classy way. The waiter that lead them to their table wore a expensive looking suit, and Meredith vaguely noticed a small box of matches in his pocket, in case one of the candles should happen to be blown out.

Derek pulled out her chair for her before the waiter had a chance, and then took his seat. As she gazed at the wide arrangement of forks and spoons in front of her, Meredith suddenly found herself wishing she had taken a class on manners in her childhood years. She bit her lip nervously, but figured she would just watch what other people were doing, and copy their knowledge. Once the glasses of wine had been set in front of her and Derek, they both leaned forward and started talking, sending their night out together off to a good start.

About ten minutes later, Meredith felt her clutch (which was still placed in her lap), vibrate slightly. Not taking her gaze from Derek, she silently slid the phone out of the bag and pressed "read messages". When Derek turned away to look down at his menu, her eyes quickly dropped down to the phone.

"AWESOME story in ER!" the message read, "Guy actually swallows wedding ring. Can you BELIVE that?"

Meredith smiled to herself, and felt a sudden pang in her chest. She sort of wanted to be there with Cristina, laughing at the stupidity of some members of the human race, yet still intrigued greatly by the situation. She quickly typed in a reply, then told herself she would focus on Derek the rest of the night, which was the reason she was here in the first place.

She jumped slightly, startled as Derek suddenly spoke. "Are you enjoying this?" he asked, a smile on his face. She nodded happily, returning the smile. "Of course." She told him. She felt her heart jump slightly as her phone vibrated again.

"Um…do you hear that?" Derek questioned, giving her a quizzical look.

"What? No, I don't hear anything. Just the piano music." Meredith told him, managing to hold his gaze as she slipped her phone back out of the bag, and held it under the table.

He shrugged. "I'm just imagining things then." He laughed, and dropped his gaze back to the menu.

Meredith smiled, but just as quickly glanced down at her phone, reading the message as fast as she could.

"He says he put it in the food they had for dinner. Ate it on accident. HA!" Cristina's message read. Meredith smiled to herself, and attempted to type her reply secretly as she continued her conversation with Derek, one hand under the table while the other held his.

The phone vibrated again, and Meredith stole a second to glance down casually.

"What does that mean?" the message asked.

When Meredith looked back she realized she had sent a jumble of letters instead of a literate reply. She cursed in her mind and look back up at Derek.

The night continued like this for a while, through most of the dinner. Meredith halfway paying attention to Derek and halfway texting with her other hand that never strayed from its spot under the table.

Just as dinner was about to end and dessert was about to begin, Meredith was alarmed to feel another hand close over hers that was secretly holding the phone. When she looked up, Derek was smiling at her. "Meredith," he asked her, "tell me. How is Cristina doing?"

Meredith felt her face grow red suddenly. "Oh, Um," she fumbled for words, not really sure how to explain how much she was enjoying this evening but was still unable to resist the allure of medicine at the same time.

"Don't worry about it," Derek told her, an understanding smile on his face that made her feel even guiltier (if that was even possible). "Let's go."

About thirty minutes after paying the bill and leaving the restaurant, Meredith and Derek were walking through the automatic doors to Seattle Grace. Cristina met them half way, running up to them excitedly, her hands gesturing wildly as she told the story. "Oh my gosh, Mer, you're not going to believe this!" she exclaimed, and proceeded to tell the couple the tale of a man, a wedding ring, a proposal gone wrong, and a life saving surgery.

That same night, as Meredith and Derek left the hospital, Meredith stopped walking a moment and turned to face Derek. "I'm sorry I ruined our night out…." She confessed, as cars passed by quickly on the street next to the sidewalk they were standing on. "I don't even know what came over me. As soon as I heard that story, I just had to-"

"Meredith," Derek interrupted her softly, "people who feel very passionately about something have a hard time staying away from it when it's calling to them. Seattle Grace was calling to you, and you loved it so much you just couldn't resist it."

Meredith smiled slightly. "I think I know what you mean," she admitted, "I do have a problem with staying away from the things I love." She stepped closer to him, holding his gaze.

"You know what?" Derek smiled, "You owe me a dance."

And with her hands on his shoulders, and his arms around her waist, the couple danced under the streetlight on the sidewalk next to the hospital, Meredith's silk dress shimmering under the light.


End file.
